HARKIN HAS MONEY TO BURN: After spending five terms in the Senate, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) announced this weekend that he will not be seeking re-election when his current term expires in 2014. Harkin, a fixture of the Democratic Party and a champion of anti-discrimination legislation to protect people with disabilities, won his last election in 2008 by a landslide. In campaign finance terms, his opponent barely got out of the gate, raising just $59,000, compared to Harkin’s $9.2 million.

While not technically running unopposed, Harkin only had to spend $7 million in that campaign, leaving him in the enviable position of having lots of cash left on hand. Through the last four years, Harkin has managed to grow his war chest further and, according to the latest OpenSecrets.org data, has $2.8 million in cash on hand, and no re-election bid to spend it on.

Although Harkin was expected to retain the seat if he wanted it, it’s now an open race, so all that cash may come in handy for Democrats. Harkin can hand those funds out to other candidates (albeit with the same limits anyone else has when they contribute to a campaign).

— By Russ Choma

CANTOR’S AMBITION: Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was profiled over the weekend in the New York Times as a possible replacement for House Speaker John Boehner when he retires (talk of an ouster has quieted), is viewed as having a possible rival for that job in Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Ryan, head of the House Budget Committee, strengthened his resume when he was picked to be on the ticket with GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012. But that may not do much for him in a popular vote among his House peers. For that, generosity is a highly valued trait — generosity with campaign contributions.

In a head-to-head race, Cantor used a traditional leadership PAC with which to spread the love in 2012 — Every Republican is Crucial (ERIC PAC). The PAC distributed $2.1 million to Republican hopefuls in the election cycle.

But Cantor also had a super PAC — YG Action Fund. And super PACs can offer a lot more love than regular PACs, via unlimited independent expenditures. Thus Cantor’s group spent $4.7 million attacking seven Democrats (and one Republican, in a primary) in races around the country, no small bit of change.

Ryan, in contrast, managed contributions of less than $1 million to other Republicans from his leadership PAC, Prosperity PAC.

— By Viveca Novak

AND THEN THERE’S MCCONNELL: In 2009, when Republicans in Nevada saw an opportunity to topple one of the most powerful Democrats in the country in Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, GOP voters in the state put their hope in the hands of a tea party candidate by the name of Sharron Angle. Despite out-raising Reid and a Republican wave that swept across much of the rest of the country, Angle still lost the race.

And now it seems it’s the Democrats turn to target the Senate’s top Republican. But this time, they’re seeking the tea party’s help.

Senator Mitch McConnell is up for re-election in 2014, and Democrats in Kentucky smell weakness. According to Politico, state Democrats and a left-leaning super PAC are sending signals to tea party organizers in the state, noting that they’re willing to throw some financial resources to a tea party candidate who is willing to challenge — and therein, weaken — McConnell in the primary.

But McConnell’s campaign account sends its own message, one that will resonate with even the most unholy of political alliances: bring it.

As Senate minority leader, McConnell is himself a money magnet. He’s raised more than $25 million during the last six years, and while he’s spent much of it, financial documents still indicate McConnell was sitting on about $6.8 million at the end of last September. And as Politico notes, he’s got some financial allies in two well-known state tea party Republicans: Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie.

Paul’s own 2010 Senate race was an expensive one. He reporting sitting on just $54,000 at the end of November, but Paul also showed impressive fundraising ability, raising more than $8 million in the course of winning his contest. He’s also brought in $1.7 million additional dollars through his leadership PAC, since he took his oath of office in 2010.

Massie meanwhile also raised more than $1 million for his House race in 2012. He left that race with about $88,000 still in the bank, but has $80,000 in debt. Still, his top contributor as a GOP ideological group that aligned itself with the tea party — the Club for Growth, which handed Massive more than $107,000. And his third-highest contributor? Sen. Mitch McConnell’s own leadership PAC, the Bluegrass Committee. That handshake might just pay dividends for McConnell in 2014.

— By Evan Mackinder

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